Recent studies have shown that Millennials between the age of 18 and 25 tend to increasingly change jobs every two to three years. This is in contrast to previous generations that might see staying in the same job with the same company their entire lives as an achievement, something that young individuals today might question as being something to be proud of. This glorious of young individuals are characterized for being creative, curious, self-taught, they try to simplify their life, they work to be able to travel and to explore the world. This is why if they do not like something from their current jobs, they will not hesitate to find another one that meets all of their expectations.
B. Lynn Ware has found research to support the fact that even though most Millennials are not really unhappy with their current jobs, over 60 percent of these employees are actively looking for new jobs or careers, although they are currently employed. This, among many other things, can prove to be a challenge in today’s labor market. There and be a wide array of reasons and things Millennials are looking for which may prompt them to be in an almost permanent job hunt. These can be things such as: having appropriate pay based on their roles and responsibilities; having a good work-life balance, good health benefits, etc. Implementing these and many other benefits can be a great strategic decision that many organizations can take in order to gain Millennials loyalty to the company they are currently working for.
Motivations
According to various research articles out there, there are many different motives and reason why Millennials look to change their jobs so frequently. As mentioned previously, these can be related to low-salary, poor career progression, poor work environment, and many others. Many Millennials feel that they need to climb the career ladder faster than other generations, and one way that they feel like this can be accomplished is by changing jobs frequently. A new job usually entails that an individual can expect a promotion (which equals more money) and new, increased responsibilities, which can fuel their desire to be challenged in ways that their old job did not.
One of the biggest reasons not discussed enough is that young employees quit their jobs because of the type of boss they are given. This new generation tends to expect a leader who really takes the time to know them, will motivate them, and that in addition to pointing out their mistakes, they also show them their accomplishments. Unfortunately, most supervisors today are from older generations that might be set in their old-school ways, who have been in their jobs and the organization for a very long time and manage their teams with the mentality of “I’m the boss, and you shall do as I say”.
Another interesting observation being made by Millennials today is that they feel that in the past, having a college degree was your ticket into a career where you could expect to be with a company for the next 40 years and retire. Today, Millennials see having a degree only as their ticket into their first job out of college, and not something that will necessarily tie them to a particular company for the rest of their lives. In contrast, Millennials see job movement as a positive quality, where a prospective employer can see that they have had a wide array of job experiences that make them unique in a sense of having increased diversity, unlike their older generation counterparts.
Prevention
So, what can managers do (if anything) to prevent, or at least reduce Millennials turnover intentions in their organizations? Sam Alkhatib is a Project Manager that has seen this type of turnover all too frequently in his line of work. His findings are all too familiar: managers must take the time to learn what motivates and matters to Millennials, so they can better implement changes in order to recruit and retain them.
One of the best options an organization can take and/or develop is to create personalized career plans where the manager, coach, supervisor or boss is responsible for analyzing the strengths of young employees (AKA Millennials) in order to better be able to offer them the opportunities that best suit their preferences. The design of mentoring programs is key to detect the strengths of employees, that will also in turn create a process of constant learning both for the manager and the employee.
Millennials also want career growth and training. Many organizations and companies out there do not do enough to coach and train their employees in a way that they feel like they would not want to change jobs. Most Millennial employees seem to leave their jobs because they feel like they cannot find opportunities for continuous learning. In contrast to training opportunities, Millennials was employers to not micro-manage them. Flexibility still is at the top of the priorities for Millennials: they want autonomy to solve their problems, flexible work arrangements, training opportunities, and even unconventional perks such as gym memberships, and flexible schedules that will allow them to create and maintain a balanced work-like environment.